Image: Supplied.

Australian Daniel Sanders has finished just shy of the podium at the 2021 Rally Kazakhstan on debut in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and his first-ever appearance with the GasGas Rally Team.

The former ISDE outright champion put on an impressive display over the five-stage rally, earning a pair of third-place finishes during stages four and five to elevate himself to fourth overall, just 21 seconds behind third’s Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing).

“Another good day for me today and I feel like I’m back to where I belong,” Sanders reflected. “My navigation was on point today. The stage was shortened but up until that point I didn’t make a single mistake and got into a good rhythm.

“It’s a shame as I felt awesome on the bike today. But anyway, that’s my first world championship race done, and I learned a lot this week. The focus now is to work on a few things before the next round so that I can start strong and be up the front from the beginning.”

The Rally Kazakhstan was taken out by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ross Branch, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner finished with runner-up honours. The next round on the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship is the Silkway Rally on 1-11 July.